“How do I explain it to you? Do you know Madrid Central? Then ‘Central Santa Cruz‘! ” The qualified municipal spokesperson who serves as a source for NOTICE JOURNAL so graphically summarized what appears to be the greatest transformation of the capital of Tenerife so far this century after the urbanization of the Cabo Llanos neighborhood. Said spokesperson alludes to the creation of a space “free of pollution and noise”, which will emerge after restricting much of the historic center of the Chicharrera city to road traffic, in such a way that only electric, public and private vehicles will be able to circulate in the area. mechanical traction such as bicycles, scooters and the like. The key lies in the fact that, as a result of the aid provided to mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic, the project fits like a glove to the requirements demanded by the European Union to grant the funds, and the City Council is fully aware of this.
What will ‘Santa Cruz Central’ consist of?
In a way, it is about finishing the unfinished task of the Urban area and finally prohibit the traffic of polluting vehicles through the city center, in the manner of so many European cities, but also in the Canary Islands. It is not a pedestrianization in the strict sense, but, as has been said, the streets included in this project will only be able to pass electric vehicles or personal traction vehicles, including the now popular scooters, bicycles, etc. Regarding public transport, the initiative goes beyond this kind of Central Santa Cruz, since it aspires to a transformation of the capital’s bus fleet towards electric or at least hybrid buses. Of course, the access to their car parks of the residents of these roads will be respected. Because, in reality, what the City Council seeks is to catch up and work for a capital with the ecological parameters consistent with the current fight against climate change.
What space will ‘Santa Cruz Central’ occupy?
As has been said, it includes the current Urban Zone, as much as the passage of time has blurred that project, as neighborhood organizations such as El Perenquén have always complained. But it goes further, and the expansions for now envisaged in the municipal work team that outlines the proposal are of consideration, by adding two roads of particular significance (due to size, history and traffic flow) such as Calle de La Rosa and Imeldo Seris street (old Barranquillo), as well as the confluence of Robayna street with Méndez Núñez. Of course, it should be emphasized that this new perimeter of relief for the lungs of residents and visitors to the capital is not closed, and variations are not ruled out.
Why does it conform to European requirements?
It would not be the first time (nor the last) that projects like the one described (which actually falls within a political line that the current government team calls Santa Cruz Now) end up dissolving like borage water, but it does not seem, precisely, that be this the case. This is due to the fact that the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan approved by the European Commission prioritizes proposals such as the one at hand, to such an extent that the first section of the requirements required to grant the funds speaks of “actions to implement areas of low emissions that include the set of investments that its implementation requires “, while the second affects” measures aimed at promoting the modal shift towards public transport and promoting healthy mobility “, in addition to collecting” projects that facilitate the active mobility, such as the pedestrianization of streets or the creation of cycling infrastructure; that prioritize the circulation of collective transport modes and that promote transport systems on demand, intermodality with zero or low emission vehicles (carsharing, motosharing, scooters, bicycles), the improvement of efficiency in the urban distribution of goods or in the enabling of dissuasive car parks among others ”.
How is the project going and who is developing it?
For about two months, a municipal work commission, in which both councilors and technicians participate, have made both this initiative and others that must be presented before the end of this month, a deadline imposed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Agenda Urbana (Mitma), through which the 1,000 million euros of European funds from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism are channeled to be distributed among Spanish municipalities. In case it had not been clear, the objective of this first aid program, included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), is to accelerate the decarbonization of cities, improve air quality and mitigate noise by promoting Low Emission Zones (LEZ), the sustainable transformation of collective public transport and the digitization of mobility. Of course, the aforementioned commission not only works in what we call Santa Cruz Centra, but also aspires to more European funding through other proposals.
What about public transportation?
The objective of the Capital City Council is clear: It works for a non-polluting public transport thanks to the gradual transformation of the fleet into electric vehicles or, at least, hybrids. But the municipal commission continues to study which is the most successful way to, at least, get closer to such an ambitious goal.
